PAOLO VENEZIANO
(b. before 1300, d. ca. 1360)

Monument to the Doge Francesco Dandolo

1339
Panel and stone
Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice

In the centre of one of the walls of the Chapter Hall, between the two large windows, is the tomb of the Doge Francesco Dandolo (d. 1339). The Byzantine sarcophagus depicts the death of the Virgin surrounded by the disciples with the Redeemer in the middle carrying Mary's soul in the form of a child in swaddling bands to heaven.

Above the sarcophagus in the lunette of the arch is a fine work by Paolo Veneziano (1339), who was the initiator of that school of painting that was to make the city famous throughout the ages. The picture depicts St Francis and St Elizabeth of Hungary presenting the Doge Dandolo and the Dogaressa to the Virgin.




© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx.